San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
New arrival Wiggins quickly gets into flow
Debut hit: Small forward lifts team after trade
Less than three minutes into his Warriors debut Saturday night, forward Andrew Wiggins dribbled around a screen, stepped in front of the 3point arc and, with JaVale McGee’s hand in his face, clanged a long jumper off the back of the rim.
This was a nauseating sequence for Golden State fans who feared Wiggins — acquired Thursday in a blockbuster trade with the Timberwolves — would bring his bad habits to his new team. But as the Warriors’ 125120 loss to the Lakers at Chase Center progressed, Wiggins appeared to get comfortable, flashing the elite speed and athleticism that compelled Golden State to give up a 23yearold for
mer AllStar for him.
Less than 24 hours removed from touching down in San Francisco, Wiggins relied on instinct as he tried to help will a mishmashed group of G Leaguers and littleknown youngsters to an upset of the Western Conference’s best team. With Wiggins leading the way, the Warriors trimmed a 21point, thirdquarter deficit to five with 2:18 left, only to give up critical shots down the stretch and endure their 17th loss in 20 games.
More important than the final score, however, was how Wiggins looked in a motion system that’s a far cry from the isolationheavy offense he saw during his 5½ seasons in Minnesota. Long derided for his inefficiency and shot selection, Wiggins scored 24 points on 8for12 shooting (3for4 from 3point range).
Instead of trying to hunt shots, he mostly played in the flow of the offense. Midway through the second quarter, Wiggins saw a wideopen driving lane, slashed through the key untouched and threw down a tomahawk dunk. Minutes later, he darted downcourt and, while taking a hard foul from Anthony Davis, lofted in a layup.
“Steve just told me to compete and run the floor,” Wiggins said of Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. “I just went out there and let the game come to me.”
Even Wiggins’ defense, which has been called lazy, impressed at times.
Midway through the second quarter, he deflected a LeBron James pass near midcourt to force a turnover, ran down in transition, caught a pass from Ky Bowman and finished with the layup while drawing contact from James. Wiggins finished with five steals on a night many of his teammates struggled with the Lakers’ length and athleticism.
“It was just great to have a player who we can put on LeBron and at least match up physically,” Kerr said. “It’s the hardest position to guard these days in the NBA. So to have a guy who’s 68, athletic, knows the game well and understands how to play, it’s great.”
With 17.6 seconds left, James hit a 30foot stepback jumper to seal the Warriors’ fate. But given the circumstances, most Golden State fans in attendance just seemed pleased that the home team had made things competitive.
Within the two weeks leading up to Thursday’s trade deadline, the Warriors dealt away six rotation players, including their two leading scorers in D’Angelo Russell and Alec Burks. Just to have the 14 players required of NBA teams’ 15man rosters, Golden State had to convert the twoway contracts of Bowman and center Marquese Chriss to multiyear NBA deals, ink forward Juan ToscanoAnderson to a restofseason contract, and sign shooting guard Zach Norvell Jr. and point guard Jeremy Pargo to 10day deals. With Draymond Green out with lower back soreness, the Warriors had only one player — center Kevon Looney — available Saturday who appeared in last June’s NBA Finals. It didn’t help that Wiggins, who was brought in for a package that included Russell and two others, didn’t get a chance to practice with his new team.
In the hours before tipoff, he went over concepts and plays just to get his bearings. By the time pregame introductions arrived, Wiggins was receiving a loud applause because, even if fans aren’t high on Wiggins, they’re hopeful he’ll plug the hole at starting small forward.
His performance Saturday only reinforced the front office’s belief that he will benefit from a new environment. Wiggins might not have lived up to his billing as the No. 1 overall pick with Minnesota, but the Warriors don’t need him to be an AllStarcaliber player.
Once Golden State gets healthy next season, he’ll be asked to do what he did Saturday: keep things simple and play solid defense.
“He’s one of those guys who could be called a professional scorer,” Chriss said of Wiggins. “He was playing hard, and he filled his role well.”